572 PATENT ABSTRACTS

and vinblastine can be recovered from the organ 4917906 culture tissue via extraction.

P R O C E S S F O R P R E S E R V I N G R A W M E A T W I T H A B A C T E R I A -

L Y S I N G E N Z Y M E F R O M S T R E P T O M Y C E T E S

4912049

P R O C E S S F O R T H E P R E P A R A T I O N O F C E L L U L O S E

F I L M , C E L L U L O S E F I L M P R O D U C E D T H E R E B Y ,

A R T I F I C I A L S K I N G R A F T A N D I T S U S E

Luiz F X Farah, Curitiba, Brazil assigned to Bio Fill Produtos Biotechnologicos S A

There is described a process for the preparation of cellulose film, comprising the steps of pre- paring a culture medium having as nutrients sources of nitrogen and of carbohydrate, seeding this medium with a culture of acetobacter, species Xylinium; incubating the culture at tem- peratures which permit bacterial activity for a time suitable to the final intended use of the film, and removing the formed film from the culture medium for dehydration in a distended state. The film thus prepared is suitable for use as an artificial skin graft, a separating membrane, or artificial leather.

4915724

F U N G A L H E R B I C I D E F O R C O N T R O L O F L A M B ' S

Q U A R T E R S A N D O T H E R C H E N O P O D I U M W E E D S

Alan Watson, William Allan, Lee Wymore, Pincourt, Canada assigned to The Royal Institu- tion for the Advancement of Learning

A method for controlling growth of plants of Chenopodium weed species in agricultural crops. This method comprises applying to the plants or to the locus of the plants an effective amount of the fungus Ascochyta hyalospora to effect and produce typical lesions so as to inhibit the growth of or kill the plants.

Andreas Lotz, Gerhard Wohner, Christian Klug, Erich Luck, Lipinski Gert-Wolfhard yon Rymon, Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic Of Germany assigned to Hoechst Aktiengesel- lschaft

A bacteria-lysing enzyme product from strep- tomycates can preserve poultry and fresh meat products. It effects a reduction in the organism count, by acting not only on Gram-positive or- ganisms but also on Gram-negative bacteria such as, for example, Enterobacteriaceae.

4918006

G E N E C O D I N G F O R I N S E C T I C I D A L C R Y S T A L

P R O T E I N

David J Ellar, Elizabeth S Ward, Kingston, United Kingdom assigned to E I Du Pont de Nemours and Company

Recombinant plasmids containing the larvicidal delta-endotoxin gene were constructed by in- serting HindlIl fragments of the Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis 72-75 Md plasmid into the Escherichia coli vector pUCI2. Two recombinants producing a 27-kdal toxin (piP 173 and pIP174) were indentified by screening clones in an E. coli in vitro transcription-translation system. Both recombinants comprised pUCI2 and common 9.7 kb Hindlll fragment of the B. thuringiensis plasmid. The 27, 340 Da poly- peptide synthesized in vito from piPIT4 trans- formed into E. coli JMI01 and from B. subtilis 168 and spoOJ87 containing the 1.2 kb Taql fragment from plP173 was lethal to mosquito larvae.

4919813

P H O T O E N H A N C E D A N A E R O B I C D I G E S T I O N O F O R G A N I C A C I D S

Paul F Weaver assigned to The United States of America as represented by the Department of Energy

PATENT ABSTRACTS

A process is described for rapid conversion of organic acids and alcohols in anaerobic digesters into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, the optimal precursor substrates for production of methane. The process includes addition of photosynthetic bacteria to the digester and exposure of the bac- teria to radiant energy (e.g., solar energy). The process also increases the pH stability of the digester to prevent failure of the digester. Pre- ferred substrates for photosynthetic bacteria are the organic acid and alcohol waste products of fermentative bacteria. In mixed culture with methanogenic bacteria or in defined co-culture with non-aceticlastic methanogenic bacteria, photosynthetic bacteria are capable of faci- litating the conversion or organic acids and al- cohols into methane with low levels of light energy input.

4920O50

A C I D I C P O L Y C Y C L I C E T H E R A N T I B I O T I C

Walter P Cullen, James R Hauske, Gloria J Kostek, Hiroshi Maeda, Junsuke Tone assigned to Pfizer Inc

An acidic polycycli¢ ether antibiotic, having structure established by X-ray crystallography, is formed by fermentation of a novel micro- organism, Streptomyces sp. ATCC 53862. This novel antibiotic is useful as an anticoccidial in chickens, in the prevention or treatment of swine dysentery, and as a growth promotant in cattle and swine.

4920215

A N T I B I O T I C P R O D U C E D B Y F E R M E N T A T I O N

Kelvin Holdom, John Ruddock, Junsuke Tone, Hiroshi Maeda, Martin Jefson, Ramsgate, United Kingdom assigned to Pfizer Inc

The antibiotic of the formula: See Patent for Chemical Structure (I) wherein R is See Patent for Chemical Structure The antibiotic is useful for the treatment of swine dysentery and for pro-

673

rooting growth and/or increasing the efficiency of food utilization in poultry, swine and ruminants.

4 9 2 1 ~ 3

I M M O B I L I Z E D B L U E - G R E E N A L G A E

Ronald S Nohr assigned to Kimberly-Clark Corporation

A composite is prepared which includes a sub- stantially water-insoluble particulate or fibrous support having a surface energy of at least about 19 dynes per cm to which nitrogen-fixing filamentous heterocystous blue-green algae are attached. The support does not have a deleterious effect on the viability of the attached algae, and is preferably polypropylene or cel- lulosic. Preparing the composite includes con- tacting the support with blue-green algae to permit the algae to attach to the support by means of heterocyst cells. The attached cells in a nitrogen-deficient environment, fix nitrogen at a rate substantially greater than unattached cells, and have agricultural applications.

4925663

B I O L O G I C A L C O N T R O L O F I M P O R T E D F I R E A N T S W I T H A

F U N G A L P A T H O G E N

Jerry L Stimac assigned to University of Florida

The subject invention concerns a novel bio- pesticide and its use to control imported fire ants which have caused significant economic harm to much of the southeastern United States. Specifically, a highly virulent isolate of Beauveria hassiana in an agricultural composi- tion, can be used to effectively control ants of the genus Solenopsis. Exemplified herein is Beauveria bassiana No. 447, ATCC 20872. By using this novel fungus, or mutants thereof, fire ants can be controlled without the environ- mental and public safety hazards presented by chemical control agents.